All the talk-show anecdotes of frigid temperatures, artistic suffering and Leonardo DiCaprio eating raw bison liver on camera did the trick for the early 19th century frontier saga "The Revenant."

Director Alejandro G. Inarritu's grandiose spectacle topped The Academy Award nominations with 12 nods including recognition in the best picture, director, actor, supporting actor and cinematography categories. With big wins for best picture and best actor last week at the Golden Globes, Inarritu's harsh but extremely pretty spectacle proceeds to the front-runner position at the 88th Oscars.

Overall this year's nominations came up whiter than a Donald Trump rally, and the customary what-gives (Tom Hardy over Idris Elba or Michael Shannon in the supporting actor category? What gives?) can be found throughout the ranks. Let's predict how it'll go down Feb. 28 in the major Oscar categories. And how we'd prefer it to go. And who got skunked.